Spotting Animal-Free Cosmetics & Household Products

Eating a plant-based diet is one key way to help the animals. Another is to purchase and use beauty and household products that have the leaping bunny symbol on the packaging.

This symbol from The Coalition For Consumer Information On Cosmetics ensures that products are free of animal ingredients and were not tested on animals at anytime during their development.

 

Below are cruelty-free product myths and facts, as well as more information on the Leaping Bunny designation. For a list of animal-free products, please visit: www.leapingbunny.org.

 

 

Information from www.leapingbunny.org:

 

If a product says "Cruelty-Free" or has a bunny on it, that means it hasn’t been tested on animals. This is simply not true as the devil is often in the details. Designation as “cruelty-free” or “not tested on animals,” or even the image of a bunny on a label may only refer to the finished product, when in fact, most animal testing occurs at the ingredient level. Furthermore, while a company may claim , “We do not test on animals,” it could still contract other companies to do the testing. The only way to be 100% certain a company is cruelty-free is to buy products from companies that have been certified by the Leaping Bunny Program, which requires that no new animal testing be used in any phase of product development by the company, its laboratories, or ingredient suppliers. The law requires animal testing to be conducted on personal care and cosmetics products. 100% false. Neither the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) nor the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission require animal testing for cosmetics or household products. There are sufficient existing safety data as well as in vitro alternatives to make animal testing for these products obsolete. While it is true that virtually every ingredient, even water, has been tested on animals in the past, we can help prevent future animal testing. If a product isn’t tested on animals, it might not be safe for humans. Not so! There are many reliable alternatives to using animals available, including cell and tissue cultures and sophisticated computer and mathematical models. Companies can also formulate products using ingredients already determined to be safe. Cruelty-free companies can use a combination of methods to ensure safety, such as employing in vitro tests and/or conducting clinical studies on humans.